To celebrate the launch of the Transformers: Dark of the Moon game, Activision has just released a new trailer that highlights some of the game’s sure to be numerous combat sequences.

Featuring set pieces that are standalone, and some that are seen in the Dark of the Moon film, this trailer carries a similar aesthetic to High Moon Studios’ previous Transformers game — which should make many gamers happy.

While Dark of the Moon really slipped under the radar — releasing on a Wednesday rather than the traditional Tuesday — there is still some interest in the game based solely on the performance of Transformers: War for Cybertron. Coming out of nowhere, War for Cybertron proved that when video games adapt a property without a movie to tie into, they are typically quite good.

And that’s where things get hairy for Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- a movie tie-in game developed by a company that has succeeded with a standalone story. While there are claims that Dark of the Moon will differentiate itself from the film in its storyline, there remains some skepticism based on how little time High Moon had to perfect the title.

Additions like the hybrid vehicle mode and multiplayer show that High Moon had at least enough time to play around with War for Cybertron’s mechanics, but since a similar idea is showcased in the film, it’s hard to differentiate.

Where, at first, it looked like Dark of the Moon might be heading in the direction of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it seems more likely Dark of the Moon is leaning closer to Revenge of the Fallen and the first Transformers game before it.

See how you feel about Dark of the Moon by checking out the launch trailer:

[bitsontherun hdgOhOSW]

We still, however, reserve our judgments until our review of the game, but, as of right now, there is some doubt in the air. Also, with the movie still a couple weeks away from release, there is the potential that Activision strategically scheduled the game's release now for counter marketing purposes. We’ll just have to wait and see.

How do you think Transformers: Dark of the Moon will rate as far as movie tie-ins go? Do you think it was a smart move to release the game before the film on which it is based releases?

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is out now for the Xbox 360 and PS3.